After his arrest in January for an incident involving his wife, Eliana Lopez, the court barred the city's new sheriff from having contact with her and their son, Theo, who will turn 3 next month. But in February, Mirkarimi was granted the right to see his son for up to two hours each weekday and up to six hours on a weekend day. The stay-away order involving his wife remains in effect.

Lopez's father recently suffered a recurrence of cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy in Venezuela, according to her attorneys.

Since Mayor Ed Lee suspended Mirkarimi from his job without pay Wednesday, the family "can no longer afford to maintain" his day care costs, the couple told the court.

Under the modified visitation order, Lopez can take Theo to Venezuela on Sunday and must bring him back to San Francisco no later than April 28. Lopez will have to provide Mirkarimi with a copy of her round-trip airline ticket prior to her departure.

While the mother and child are away, Mirkarimi will be allowed to phone Theo daily and/or visit with him electronically.

Also during that time, Mirkarimi "will endeavor to complete as many counseling sessions as possible." Mirkarimi agreed to plead guilty March 12 to one misdemeanor count of false imprisonment of his wife and is under court order to attend weekly domestic violence intervention classes. Once that's established, he can petition the court to lift the stay-away order so he can see his wife again. Lopez has said she wants the forced separation to end.

"It is the mutual intention of (the couple) to begin marital counseling as soon as they are able" once Lopez returns to San Francisco, the couple told the court in Friday's filing.

According to court documents, Lopez's desire to visit her family in Venezuela after Mirkarimi was sworn in as sheriff Jan. 8 sparked the New Year's Eve argument that led to his arrest. He didn't want her to take Theo away. Prosecutors assert that during the argument in front of their son, Mirkarimi grabbed his wife's arm and inflicted a bruise. He originally was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness. In addition to the domestic violence treatment, he was sentenced this week to three years probation, and 100 hours of community service.

After the sentencing, Mirkarimi rebuffed the mayor's request to resign and was suspended and charged with official misconduct. The city's independent Ethics Commission will hold a fact-finding hearing on the charges and then send the matter to the Board of Supervisors, which will determine whether to uphold the mayor's charges and remove Mirkarimi from office permanently, or allow him to return to the sheriff's job.